Every human being has a sense of needing to be in control – some more than others. It’s the thing that inspires us to want to learn more so that we are never at a disadvantage. But when you decide to be a Christian, it sometimes means that you are choosing to know less. The truth is, when you are doing life with Christ, He doesn’t care too much about how much you know, but rather about how much you are ready to learn from Him. He’s got to be your Rabbi if what you know will count. Still, if you want to know what I know, here are 6 things I’ve come to know for sure:
1. You cannot know it all – professor or not, you will be a student for the rest of your life. Wouldn’t it be nice to know it all though? But God doesn’t work like that. If you live enough, you will understand what it means when the Bible talks of ‘this is the day that the Lord has made’ – it is new and packed with knowledge that hasn’t been known to mankind yet. Maybe it’s an age thing, because the older you get, the more you realize how little you know. Or maybe it’s really a God thing where He gives us everything that pertains to life and godliness – with mercies, new every morning. Don’t be shocked when the wind or the water takes you to school. And even while wise old men will teach you, you’ll also learn from children and infants that are yet to master their syllables. I think it’s God’s way of proving to us that we may look like Him, but we aren’t Him.
2. What you know doesn’t always matter – sure it makes a difference that you know a lot, but it doesn’t always matter. If I’ve learned anything from God, it’s that He can seriously choose to capitalize on your weaknesses, ignorance, and areas of lack. He knows how much you know. He knows how much you can. But that, my dear, doesn’t always matter. If you are especially preparing for ‘a call to deeper’, what you know doesn’t always matter. He will call you to new levels of ignorance, enough for you to know that you need God’s skills. I think sometimes God just likes to have a good laugh, seeing how He challenges us in places we didn’t even know existed. Only God knows enough about what would work for every situation. Besides, haven’t you heard many people talk of spending years in medical school only to end up doing music? God will do that to you – a lot – because your thoughts, my dear, are not His thoughts.
3. There is nothing new under the sun – if the wisest man to ever exist (King Solomon) would say it, he must have been up to something. Your innovation may be novel, but it is not new under the sun. God created time and everything that exists within it. Therefore, just cause you discovered it now doesn’t mean you brought it into existence. Your purpose on earth may just have been to uncover the secret of the invention – unknown to man but known to God. As such, stay humble – God knew it first!
4. Your knowledge is no match for God’s wisdom – it should be a no-brainer, right? There is a secret wisdom of God that He reveals to you as you go. If you are obedient enough, you will quickly realize that you are a mystery even to yourself. It is why the longer you walk with God, the lesser you recognize the person you used to be. He leads you into new unfamiliar places. If you would dare submit to God’s righteousness, there is wisdom and knowledge that looks nothing like you’ve known before. No wonder it is the case that someone would walk with God enough to even evade death – like Enoch. That guy must have known enough to just disappear – in the literal sense – into the fullness of Christ, don’t you think?
5. Knowing more doesn’t equate to knowing better. Let me tell you, God will defy every odd known to human beings. For instance, while you are busy taking classes to learn a new foreign language, the Holy Spirit will be somewhere else teaching someone else that very language – and for free, guys. Knowing more does not mean you know better. The only way to know better is to know God – He is good after all! Know God and watch how He directs your path and orders your step. Know about the secret wisdom of God and watch how you are always in the loop even when you are under-qualified. Be shocked at how every step you take seems to always be the right move – you’ll find yourself being in all the right places at just the right time to meet just the right people for where you are headed. Know God to know better!
6. It will all make sense in the end – if nothing makes sense to you right now, you are in great company. It is not all supposed to make sense. Jesus actually assures us that we won’t understand any of it right now. I think of how clueless Ruth must have been when she was grieving her husband. The only best choice she could make was to be with Naomi, because as far as she was concerned, she knew her to be a good woman. Even as they journeyed back to Naomi’s home country, both had no idea what God was up to. Then Naomi had a plan that involved Boaz. It seemed good enough, and so Ruth did it. But, it only took thousands of years for us to realize that God was making way for Jesus. Who would have thought? So, even as you journey your time on earth, you are leaving marks as you go – think of them as small dots. The more truth you are exposed to, the more consistent the dots are. Eventually, when your time on earth is up, it will all make sense. ‘Cause anyway, if we’re honest, the less we know, sometimes, the better for us. The big picture will only be beautiful when it is completed – if anything, you are just lucky and loved if God lets you see the beauty in the unfinished product. In retrospect, you will understand that even coincidences are just some of the random ways that heaven touches earth for somebody.
With that being said, rest. You will not be in control of anything. We are only on earth as stewards – managers. Therefore, we only handle what God lets us. So, just in case you are way in over your head trying to make sense of everything, this is for you.
Breathe and remember who your God is. Leave it to the all-knowing God to do the knowing.
This is what casting your burdens on Him looks like. It is your way of letting Him be God – the keeper of wisdom, knowledge, and understanding. Instead, seek Him. Trust Him. Acknowledge Him. Then it all works out. When God knows, it’s enough!
Psalm 37:3 – 5. 3Trust in the LORD, and do good; Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness. 4Delight yourself also in the LORD, And He shall give you the desires of your heart. 5Commit your way to the LORD, Trust also in Him, And He shall bring it to pass.
